


No Mistakes In Choosing Soulmates

by trashy_chocolate



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Au: writing on your skin shows up on your soulmates skin, He/They pronouns for lance, Keith kind of has a meltdown, M/M, Soulmate AU, Warning: Keith gets beat up and theres a mild description of the injury, Written pre season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 05:24:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11479527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashy_chocolate/pseuds/trashy_chocolate
Summary: The first time Keith heard of soulmates, he was five.He was sitting in his bedroom, doodling on a small piece of paper, when a splotch of blue paint appeared on his left arm. He looked around to see where it came from, but found nothing. There was no paint in his room at all, let alone anywhere near him. He ran to his mom, holding out his arm to show her the paint.She kneeled down and took his small arm in her hands. She rubbed at the paint a bit, but it didn't seem like it was going to come off. So, she came to the conclusion that it was from his soulmate.Keith, naturally curious about the mysterious source of the paint, asked her what that was.She explained that a soulmate was like a very special friend, who would always love you and care about you no matter what. She told him how the universe selects a soulmate for everyone at birth, and they become connected through their skin. When something is on someone's skin, it shows up on their soulmate's skin. Anything from writing and drawing to bruises and cuts. And yes, that includes paint.Keith found the idea strange. More than anything, he was just pissed he wouldn't be able to get the paint off his arm until his soulmate washed it off.





	No Mistakes In Choosing Soulmates

**Author's Note:**

> -This us my first real fic on this site after that weird Odor stint, pls be gentle  
> -this was written before I watched season two, as a gift for a Voltron Secret Valentine. I was unable to post it due to complications, but I got my account back and here it is! (Gifted for @theprincessamirah on tumblr)  
> -when writing, lance is italics and Keith is bolded

The first time Keith heard of soulmates, he was five.   
He was sitting in his bedroom, doodling on a small piece of paper, when a splotch of blue paint appeared on his left arm. He looked around to see where it came from, but found nothing. There was no paint in his room at all, let alone anywhere near him. He ran to his mom, holding out his arm to show her the paint.   
She kneeled down and took his small arm in her hands. She rubbed at the paint a bit, but it didn't seem like it was going to come off. So, she came to the conclusion that it was from his soulmate.   
Keith, naturally curious about the mysterious source of the paint, asked her what that was.  
She explained that a soulmate was like a very special friend, who would always love you and care about you no matter what. She told him how the universe selects a soulmate for everyone at birth, and they become connected through their skin. When something is on someone's skin, it shows up on their soulmate's skin. Anything from writing and drawing to bruises and cuts. And yes, that includes paint.   
Keith found the idea strange. More than anything, he was just pissed he wouldn't be able to get the paint off his arm until his soulmate washed it off. He stuck his tongue out at his arm, like that would somehow convey his frustration to his soulmate.   
His mother just laughed and went back to what she was doing.   
  
\--  
  
The first time Lance heard of soulmate, he was nine.   
He was over at his friend Hunk's house, and they were playing with Legos when he noticed a deep purple bruise blooming on his right shoulder. He set down the Legos he was holding and touched around it carefully, but there was no pain. Another bruise showed up around his hip, and a small cut formed on his cheek(strangely enough, it wasn't bleeding). Lance saw the other bruise, but felt no pain. It was confusing.   
He tapped Hunk's arm to get his attention, and showed him the bruises and the cuts. Hunk offered to get him a band aid or an ice pack, but Lance said he didn't need them. He wasn't actually injured, it just looked like he was. Still, he wanted to know where the injuries came from.   
Hunk got his mom and brought her out to the living room to show her what happened to Lance. She asked him if he was okay, if he needed some ice, did he need her to call his mom, how did this happen, and more questions that he quickly lost track of. He explained that he wasn't hurt or in pain, but the bruises and the cut mysteriously appeared a few minutes ago and he had no clue what happened or why they were there.   
Hunk's mom said it was probably from his soulmate. Lance asked what that was, and she said it was something he should have his mom explain when he went home.   
So Lance went back to playing with Hunk, and the thought of soulmates began to slip from his mind over the next couple hours.  
However, he was promptly reminded of it when his mother came to pick him up. In the car on the ride home, she told him that Hunk's mother had told her about the bruises he got. She explained that a soulmate was someone very special, who loves you forever and always cares about you. He asked if she and his dad were soulmates, and she laughed and nodded. She then explained how soulmates shared a connection through their skin, and anything that happened to your soulmate's skin would happen to you. Things like pen, marker, bruises, cuts, and other similar things(no, not acne).  
When they got home, his mom helped him cover up the bruises with some makeup, and sent him off to go help his sister set the table for dinner.  
  
\--  
  
Over the years, they both came to learn many things about their soulmates.  
Keith learned that his soulmate's friends loved to draw on their arms, which led to many strange drawings and words covering his arms most days.   
Lance learned that his soulmate got into fights a lot, which led to constant bruises and scars all over his skin.Keith always sighed and rolled his eyes whenever he saw another phone number pop up on his palm, signifying that his soulmate had gotten yet another inevitable failure of a date.  
Lance raised a suspicious--and slightly disgusted--eyebrow whenever he saw bite marks show up on his palm and forearm. Whether it was from his soulmate biting themself, from a fight, or from some really weird fling, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.   
They found out even more when they started writing to each other.   
  
\--  
  
It happened one day when Keith was thirteen, towards the middle of eighth grade. He'd gotten in a fight with a few kids in his English class, and they decided to take it outside after school.  
Which was why he was currently sitting against a tree in the woods behind his school, holding his left arm and silently praying for it not to be broken. He noted the nasty set of bruises on his chin and collarbone, as well as the bleeding gash in his side. He squeezed his eyes shut and bit his tongue, hoping to ride out the pain long enough for Shiro to come pick him up.   
Much to his surprise, small words began to appear on his forearm, seemingly addressed to him.  
_Are you okay?_  
He bit his lip, uncertain as to whether he should respond or ignore the question. There was a possibility that someone was speaking with his soulmate through writing on their arm, and that the question wasn't addressed to him.   
_Do you have someone to help you handle that wound? Do you need an ambulance or something?_  
They could be talking to someone else, he reminded himself.  
_Where are you? What country, what's the address? I'll call an ambulance for you._  
They had to be talking to him, if it were someone right there they wouldn't be asking for the country. Gritting his teeth, he let go of his arm to rummage through his backpack for a pen or a marker, something to write on his skin with. He found a black pen, and shook it hastily to get the ink flowing.  
He carefully set his arm on his lap so that it could rest, and so he could have an easy spot to write.   
**I don't need an ambulance, but thanks for checking in.**  
There. That should do it.  
_Do you have someone to help you with those wounds?_  
He had Shiro, but he wasn't sure if that would be enough. He didn't know if they had the right stuff to treat the rapidly bleeding hole in his side.   
**Maybe. Idk if we have the right stuff tho.**  
_That's better than nothing. I don't know how bad the bleeding is since it's not bleeding on me but that looks really nasty. Make sure to stay awake, okay?_

**Yep.**   
Keith set the pen down to check his phone, which displayed that it was currently 3:58 pm. Shiro should have been there to pick him up over 20 minutes ago, where the hell was he?    
_ What's your name?  _   
He picked the pen back up, scribbling a messy reply.   
**Keith. Yours?**   
_ I'm Lance. Where are you from, what country are you in? _   
**Texas. Gimme a sec, I gotta call my brother.**   
He grabbed his phone and punched in Shiro's number, then held it up to his ear and waited for this fucking asshole to pick up.    
_ Texas? Seriously? You're from freaking TEXAS!? _   
"Hey, Keith! What's up, little guy?"   
"Oh my god, I told you to stop calling me that. And what's up is you were supposed to pick me up over 20 minutes ago, and now I'm in the middle of a forest, bleeding out with a broken arm, and no medical attention!"   
"I'm sorry, there's some really bad traffic here and I've been stuck at this intersection for the past 10 minutes. I'm about another 10 minutes away, 15 if traffic is really bad."   
Keith rolled his eyes and huffed into the phone's microphone.   
"Wait, what do you mean,  _ bleeding out with a broken arm?" _   
"It means I'm bleeding out and I'm pretty sure I have a broken arm," Keith deadpanned.   
"Keith, what happened?"   
Shiro's voice held a frustrating about of worry, but he didn't really care right now. He cared more about the fact that the blood was starting to really seep through his makeshift wrap(which consisted of his shirt and a few paper towels), and that was not good.    
"That doesn't matter, just get here soon. Please."

He could hear Shiro bombarding him with questions through the phone, but he really didn't have the energy to explain anything. So he pressed the end call button and put the phone down, turning his attention back to the words on his arm.   
**If Texas is so bad, then where the hell are you from?**  
_I live in Florida, but I was born in Cuba and most of my family still lives there._  
**So you're still in the south then.**  
_Yeah?_  
**Thank god. Idk if I could put up with a cold ass snow lover.**  
_True, true. How's the wound?_  
**Not great. It's bleeding rly heavily and I think my arm's broken.**  
Lance scribbled out a very poor drawing of a thumbs up, and Keith probably would have laughed if it wasn't so painful.   
**What are you doing rn?**  
_I'm supposed to be doing hw but I'm talking to you instead :)_  
**Why? Shouldn't your homework be more important than some kid you've literally never met?**  
_Maybe, but I don't really care. Plus it's kinda hard to focus on quadratic equations when you have a giant hole in your torso._  
**Oh. Sorry?**  
_You don't have to apologize, it's fine. What are you doin tho?_ **  
****Sitting in a forest, bleeding out with a broken arm and waiting for my brother who was supposed to pick me up 30 minutes ago.**  
_Oh yeah. That doesn't sound fun. Remember, you gotta stay awake._  
**I know.**  
Keith set the pen down for a moment to adjust the cloth around his wound and the position of his arm. He rolled his shoulder to work out the small cramp, and leaned against the tree again.   
He had no doubt Shiro was going to send him to the hospital over this, which wasn't going to be fun. Maybe he could get away with-  
No, that wouldn't work. On the plus side, the hospital might assume Shiro was his dad again, which was always a nice way to embarrass his older brother. But then there was the whole mess with Shiro not being his legal guardian and his dad still being alive somewhere, but hell if he knew where that asshole was. They would sort it out though, they've done it before.   
He felt himself starting to drift off, lost in thoughts of where the fuck his dad was and how were they going to figure out this mess at the hospital and-  
_Keith, are you still with me? Is your brother there yet?_  
Right, Lance was there. He reminded himself of Lance's advice, don't fall asleep. To do that, he'd have to stay occupied. Talking to Lance was one way to do that, he supposed.  
**I'm here. And no, he's not here yet. He should be here soon tho, 10 minutes maybe**  
_Good. Since you've got time, wanna get to know each other? Or smth idk_  
**Sure, I guess**  
_Mkay... what are your pronouns?_  
**He/him. Yours?**  
_He/him or they/them, idc which_  
**Alrighty**  
Keith tried to draw a thumbs up, but it ended up looking more like a chicken foot than anything else.   
_How old are you?_  
**13, but I'm turning 14 in like.... three weeks**  
_Nice! I'm 13 and my birthday's in the summer.... rip_  
Keith smiled. He'd have to remember to do something for Lance's birthday. After all, they were soulmates, weren't they?   
**Hey, at least it's not on a school day. You can't do anything fun for that.**  
_That is true... >:3_  
**Oh my god... no... my soulmate is a furry**  
_Nya~ :3c_  
**Stop that**   
Keith let out a soft giggle at Lance's attempt at drawing a cat, which was surprisingly good given where he was drawing, but also incredibly ridiculous.   
**Cats don't have ears that big, you idiot**  
_But... nya_  
**No**  
_Nyo :3_  
**Lance no**  
_Lance nyes~_  
His phone buzzed against his leg, startling him enough to drop the pen. He grabbed the device and checked the notifications, which told him that Shiro just texted him. He unlocked the phone and opened the message.  
"Will be there in 2 minutes, meet me out front."  
Keith looked down at his arm, then at the gash in his side, and back at the phone. Using his one available hand, he typed out a short message.  
"Can't stand. In forest behind school."  
He set the phone back down, then grabbed the pen and scrawled out his last words to Lance for the day before shoving it back in his backpack.  
**Gtg my brother's here**  
_Bye! Hope you feel better soon <3_  
Well that was... kind of foward of them, he thought. It didn't matter much at the moment though. He zipped up his bag and held his arm close to his chest, taking in a sharp breath in reaction to the pain of the motion. Letting his head fall back onto the tree, he did his best to relax the tension in his muscles. He reminded himself to keep his eyes open, he couldn't fall asleep here.   
His phone buzzed with a new message from Shiro.   
"I'm here. I'll come out back and find you."  
"Thanks."  
After sending his reply, Keith let the phone slip from his grasp as he slid down on the tree's trunk. He let his eyes fall closed, and his staggering breath began to even out as he drifted off.   
  
\--  
  
After that first interaction, conversations between the two were common, easy, and enjoyable. They "talked" whenever possible, even in the dead of night, when they had to use flashlights to see their arms. They talked during the school day, which was nice to be able to do, since phones weren't allowed at either of their schools, and it wasn't like a teacher could just take away their arms if they got caught.   
They got to know each other very well, and though they still had no idea what the other looked like, they were both confident in saying that they did love each other. The relationship was far more than a friendship, but it was by no means a conventional romance.  Both boys often dreamed of the day they would finally get to see each other face-to-face.  
When it happened, it was nothing like either of them had imagined.  
  
\--  
  
A little under a year later, an excited message from Lance showed up on Keith's arm. He had gotten accepted into the Galaxy Garrison, along with his friend Hunk!   
Keith wrote back immediately.  
**Congrats! I hope we see each other there :)**  
He so badly wanted to see Lance, it was almost all he could think of in the weeks leading up to his arrival at the Garrison.  When packing clothes, his thoughts revolved around "would Lance like the way I look in this?" and "how would Lance react to me wearing that?" When he boarded his flight to California, he wondered when Lance would be leaving Florida, had he already left, would they run into each other at the airport? When he got to the Garrison and received his room assignment, he thought about what would happen if Lance was his roommate. When he went to orientation, he wondered if any of the strangers he had bumped into were Lance. And when he finally got to check the list of his fellow fighter pilots, he looked eagerly for Lance's name, only to find it was nowhere on the list.  
That night, a message from Lance showed up on his arm.   
_Turns out I'm a cargo pilot :/_  
That's why he wasn't on the list. Lance was a cargo pilot, he hadn't made it up to fighter class. Guilt settled in his gut like a heavy ball of metal, weighing him down and making him feel sick to his stomach.   
_I'm at the top of my class tho, so if any fighter pilots flunk out I'll get bumped up to fighter class!! :D_  
He grabbed a pen and began writing out a message.  
**I'm sor**  
He paused in the middle of his word, unsure of what he really wanted to say. Yeah, he was sorry, but for what? He was sorry that he made the top of his class and that if he wasn't there, Lance would have been a fighter pilot, but he couldn't say that. It felt weird and too self-centered for a genuine apology. He shrugged and finished writing the word, then tugged down his sleeve and tried to get some sleep. The guilt was still heavy in his stomach though, and it wouldn't be leaving any time soon.  
  
\--  
  
Another year went by, this time with far less communication. Keith rarely found the energy to talk to Lance, and it was eating away at him that he was the reason Lance wasn't following the dreams they'd told him so much about. They still wrote, but Keith hardly ever shared anything personal anymore, and Lance wondered what they did to make Keith so distant.   
Then the Kerberos Mission was lost and Keith lost the only other person who mattered to him. His brother was dead and he couldn't talk to his boyfriend without feeling sick with guilt and regret. His emotions were snowballing, getting harder and harder to control, and he just wanted it to stop.   
Somewhere in the messy haze of emotions, he did something (he couldn't remember what, it didn't really matter anyways) that landed him alone in the desert with a small bag of his belongings. Wonderful.   
And of course, the cherry on top of this whole mess?  
Lance wrote to him that morning to say that the top fighter pilot had been kicked out for discipline issues, which got him bumped up to fighter class!  
How fucking lovely.  
  
\--   
  
Lance hadn't heard from Keith in over a week, and they were getting really worried. He hadn't been talking to them much at all that year, even less once they got bumped up to fighter class. But they had to push their worries aside for now, it was time for a night on the town with their team.   
They managed to sneak up to the roof with Hunk, following Pidge. They heard Pidge's crazy warning about aliens coming for some... "voltron" thing, and those night on the town plans quickly found themselves canceled as a small ship rocketed towards the desert below them. Pidge pulled up the footage from inside the laboratory, and they saw Shiro, the pilot of the lost Kerberos Mission. And of course, right on time, Mister Mullet himself, Keith Kogane, showed up.   
After sliding down the cliff, the trio burst into the lab and Lance stormed right up to Shiro and the asshole. They introduced themself,   
  
"Uh, the name's Lance?"  
  
had their little spiel about a supposed rivalry,   
  
"Y'know, Lance and Keith, neck and neck?"  
  
and were promptly shut down by mister asshole party pooper.  
  
"Oh, I remember you. You're a cargo pilot."  
  
Everything past that point was a blur. They remembered a few moments, like shaking hands with Shiro (holyshitholyshitholyshit), the vision of Voltron(that was super cool), and taking off in the blue lion(a magical robot lion chose them as its pilot?? Over everyone else there??? Why??). Everything else was lost to the back of their mind, like their brain had just decided to skim those couple of days for only the most important details. Their memory really only cleared up after the first battle the team had as Voltron, where they had felt a strong and close-knit connection with their teammates.   
It completely slipped their mind to tell their soulmate about this until several days after they had left Arus.   
  
\--  
  
Keith was (pleasantly?) surprised to hear from his soulmate a few days after they freed the Balmera from Galran rule. It happened while he was resting against a wall on the training deck, suffering through his routine bouts of insomnia. He was about to begin another training sequence, but the command caught in his throat at he noticed the words forming on his wrist.   
_Keith, idk why you've been ignoring me but I have some SUPER BIG stuff to tell you. Are you there??_  
He quickly dropped his bayard, frantically darting out of the training deck in search of a pen. He ran into the kitchen, the control room, the lounge, the dining area, and even the infirmary, all without success. He checked Hunk's room, Shiro's room, the green lion's hangar(it was essentially Pidge's bedroom at this point), he went as far as risking his dignity and gay innocence to check in Princess Allura's sleeping quarters. Again, no luck. His last stop on the wild search for a pen was Lance's room.   
He took a deep breath, and planted three firm knocks on the door. He waited and began to silently contemplate whether he should just scratch out a reply with his fingernails or something like that. It probably wouldn't sting too much, definitely not more than battling Galra soldiers.  
Alas, his train of thought was cut short by Lance opening the door to his room.  
"What do you want?"  
Keith looked down at Lance's hand which held-  
A _pen._ Of course Lance would be the only person on this godforsaken ship with a pen.  
"I, uh..."  
His mind short-circuited, providing him no useful words or explanations.   
"You what?"  
As harsh as the words may have been, Lance's voice didn't seem to carry any venom. The soft tone threw him off guard, messing with his already cluttered mind. Words floated around in his head, but he couldn't seem to find a way to put them together and get them out coherently.  
So he grabbed the pen out of Lance's hand and managed to write two short words before it was snatched back. 

**I'm here**   
Lance opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He clamped his jaw shut, then let it hang open once more. His gaze flew from his forearm to Keith's, to the pen and back to his arm, and Keith couldn't help but notice that he somewhat resembled a fish, with the way his mouth gaped open.    
"Give me your arm," he demanded.   
Keith raised an eyebrow as his arm flew to his chest, and he help it close with his other hand.    
"No! What the heck do you want my arm for?"   
Lance tugged on his lip, as if he was unsure how to answer the question. He let out a short breath.   
"Fine then," he huffed.    
He scribbled something on his left forearm.   
"Now look at your arm."   
Keith looked down at his arm, and just below his unfinished conversation with his soulmate, lay two hastily written words.    
_ It's me _   
He looked back up at Lance, and let out a breathy reply.   
"It's you. Oh my god, it's you!"    
He brought his hands up and shakily ran them through his hair, turning his gaze to the floor.   
"It was you this whole time, it- it's you, how did I not notice this, oh my god I'm so sorry for ignoring you I just-"   
Hot tears began running down his face, his words choked out through some sort of weird half-laugh-half-sob. His legs were threatening to give out with the way they wobbled underneath his weight, and his head was swimming with all these sudden realizations(many of which regarding his idiocy and inability to figure out who his soulmate was).    
He fell foward, and was caught in a warm but shaky embrace. He looked up to meet Lance's eyes, and saw that he wasn't the only one crying about this.    
"How about we get out of the hallway," they whispered, giving a small smile.    
Keith nodded, emitting a small noise to convey agreement.    
Lance backed them up into their room, hitting the button for the door with their elbow on the way in. They gently settled on the bed, and Keith leaned into them, resting his head up against their chest. Salty tears seeped into their shirt, but he didn't care. He just curled up against the other boy's body, letting the warmth of their strong hold relax him.    
And slowly, the metal ball of guilt began to roll away, at least for the moment. He was content like this, slowly drifting off to sleep in Lance's arms, their faint heartbeat a sufficient lullaby.    
He had finally found his soulmate, right where he least expected them. That night, he could say one thing with certainty.   
The universe does not make mistakes in choosing soulmates.

 


End file.
